Just as Pocono Mountain East wrestling coach Deno Palmisano predicted, he needed a senior to come through in the clutch.

James Palys was that wrestler.

Palys earned a major decision in the final bout of the night at 145 pounds and the Cardinals marked a historic night with its first District 11 Duals victory, a 31-30 win over Northampton on Thursday night.

“I knew we were going to win,” Palmisano said as Palys headed on the mat for the final match of the night. “I knew he was going to do what we needed to win. I told him before the match that he was going to be our horse.”

And what better wrestler than a 100-match winner in Palys, who has only lost once all season. Palys secured the winning points on a stalling call with about 30 seconds to go.

Pocono Mountain East's school-record 20th victory brought quite the celebration. After four unsuccessful trips to the duals — losses to Whitehall (63-17) in 2009, Stroudsburg (48-16) in 2010, Whitehall (41-17) in 2012, and Stroudsburg (29-28 on criteria) in 2013, Thursday night's victory was long awaited.

“It was the most exciting thing we've done so far this year,” Palmisano said. “The kids wanted it so bad.

And now it's out of the frying pan and into the fire for the fourth-seeded Cardinals, who will wrestle No. 8 Nazareth, which were 45-19 winners over top seeded Stroudsburg.

“That's what it's about, to see where we're at at the end of the season,” Palmisano said of wrestling the Blue Eagles on Saturday at 10:45 a.m. at Freedom.

Stroudsburg's back against the wall

The top two teams will qualify for the state duals. A new double-elimination format in place this year has kept the Mounties alive.

Stroudsburg will wrestle the Konkrete Kids at 9 a.m. at Freedom.

“They'll come after us,” Kleinle said of taking on Northampton. “They'll try to make some moves to beat us and we know that. They're going to come and try to advance just as much as we want to advance.”

As good as PM East's celebration went Thursday, Stroudsburg's fans were left stunned in their home gym as they lost their first dual of the year against Nazareth. Kleinle called the loss, “frustrating.”

“A lot of our guys didn't come to wrestle,” Kleinle said. “They did not show what they did all year.”

This format offers a second chance, though, and Kleinle isn't about to let his team let it pass by.

“I've got to get the kids focused on that it's not near over,” Kleinle said. “We have to go there and beat the teams that are still in it. One dual at a time. Hopefully we can put some wins together and get a shot for team states.

“We'll have to wrestle to the best of our ability. Parkland is tough. Liberty is tough and if we wrestle to the best of our ability, we'll come out ahead.”